My Experience: From iPhone 2g -> 3g -> 3gs -> Droid

[Stangs55]

I've been with the iPhone since I camped out on launch day of the original iPhone. Since then, I've made the launch day upgrade to the 3G and then the 3GS. To say that I am "dependent" on my iPhone is a bit of an understatement...honestly, I've been rather addicted to it. It has truly revolutionized how my day-to-day activities play out.

With that said, I have finally been forced to give it up for one reason: the network (or lack thereof). AT&T is absolute junk. Maybe you've had a different experience and have good coverage where you live and I'm happy for you. But I do not. I live in Houston and work in the medical center as a physician where I am dependent on my cell phone for communication and patient care. Unfortunately, the iPhone is only a gadget where I live and not a phone. For example, I can get in the elevator in the basement of a building with a person talking clearly on a Verizon, Sprint, Tmobile, Cricket, and Boost phone and ride all the way to the top floor without any of them missing a syllable. Me? Not only do I have zero bars in the basement, I have zero bars on the top floor. In fact, I can only think of about 3 places where I can get reception. Add that to an average 20-25% dropped calls OUTSIDE the hospital and you've got utter sh|t no matter how you cut it.

With that said, I've had to come to a decision: what do I want/need more? The best gadget in the world or a cell phone? Sadly, you cannot have both. Enter the Droid. Finally, a device that looks like it could offer the functionality of the iPhone on a robust network. So, with much trepidation, I opened a new Verizon account and picked up the Droid on launch day keeping my iPhone 3GS for the trail 30 days. Here's my report card so far:

iPhone (quick thoughts for comparison)
Hardware: 95/100
Almost perfect sans poor battery life. It's SO fast. EVERYTHING snaps when you open an app, close and app, reply to an email, or scroll a page--there is INSTANT responsiveness when you touch your finger to the screen. I'm lightening fast on the virtual keyboard. The camera takes outstanding pictures and wonderful videos that I can trim and edit. The screen is gorgeous. The hardware vibrate toggle makes me wonder why every phone isn't that easy.
Software: 99/100
Beautiful and elegant yet functional.
Network: 0/100
Unacceptable.
Total score: 194/300 = 64%

Droid
Hardware: 75/100
The Droid does feel great in your hands. The metal casing screams durability and the weight makes me feel like I'm holding a tool, not a toy. Since I'm nearly as fast on my iPhone's virtual keyboard as I am on my laptop, I have no desire for a physical keyboard here and this dings the Droid a few notches in my book, but that's just personal preference. I would have preferred a single solid piece of metal that doesn't slide-out on accident (though, this has rarely happened thusfar). The screen is gorgeous as well...but while the extra vertical height is appreciated, they did this at the expense of a little bit of width. This is counter-intuitive in my mind because the virtual keyboard relies on width to properly space its virtual keys--with decreased width comes congested keys. The volume up/down button is flimsy and feels like it's going to fall off. Also, there's no hardware vibrate toggle for me to easily switch on the fly without activating my screen first. The camera takes improperly exposed pictures with poor color saturation and is very slow to focus. And 256mb of maximum app storage is just silly.
Software: 75/100
Android has potential, but I'm afraid it's its own worst enemy in that there will never be standardized hardware, which will put a ceiling on the quality of the apps that we see. Devs on the iPhone know exactly what every handset can and cannot do and may adjust their software accordingly--Android devs have no such luxury. The biggest problem I have with the OS right now is that it feels SO sluggish in comparison to my 3GS. For example, when I go to the Marketplace and start to scroll the list...there's often a delay before my finger is registered and again from when the finger motion starts and stops. This leaves for an almost disorienting experience as everything you do lags behind your motion and stutters until it seems that it buffers what's on the screen. It may not be a big deal to some that do not know better...but after living on an iPhone, it makes me feel like I've stepped back 10 years in time. They HAVE to improve the responsiveness.
Network: 100/100
AT&T guys that may be reading this...it really is amazing. I have yet to drop a single call since Friday morning whereas I would have dropped literally dozens of iPhone calls. I finally have a phone and a reliable way for my family to get in contact with me. It's amazing.
Total: 250/300 = 84%

In the end, I'm going to be keeping the Droid. It's not an iPhone killer, but it's certainly the next best thing...add that to the ability to actually use it as a cell phone and you have a real winner.
Now...where were those latest Verizon iPhone rumors...

 

[helloimD4NNY]

congrats man. glad your happy.

 

[Jhanson09]

If your going to give them grades, no way you can give ATT a 0, and Verizon a 100. That would be saying you have never ever gotten a bar of service from ATT and you have had 5 bars and faster internet than ATT everywhere you went with Verizon.

You also might want to look at the Droid ERIS if you don't want the physical keyboard.

 

[Stangs55]

If your going to give them grades, no way you can give ATT a 0, and Verizon a 100. That would be saying you have never ever gotten a bar of service from ATT and you have had 5 bars and faster internet than ATT everywhere you went with Verizon.

You also might want to look at the Droid ERIS if you don't want the physical keyboard.

I work from 7am to 7pm. During that time, I have never had a single bar of service on my iPhone that lasted for more than a fraction of a second when I walked by the right window. So far, I have yet to see less than 4 bars of service on my Droid both inside and outside of work.

That's 0/100 to me.

 

[Jhanson09]

never had service for more than a fraction of a second, and you kept your phone for 2.5 years, and paid 80+ bucks a month for it? sounds like you should of bought an ipod touch

 

[ob81]

never had service for more than a fraction of a second, and you kept your phone for 2.5 years, and paid 80+ bucks a month for it? sounds like you should of bought an ipod touch

Nah, it sounds like his write-up just lost credibility.

 

[Cycom]

Nice comparison. AT&T 3G coverage can be spotty here in Los Angeles. Dropped calls and lack of 3G internet can be supremely irritating.

 

[Applejuiced]

I agree.
Also making and receiving calls talking clearly inside an elevator in the basement of a Hospital?

Nah, it sounds like his write-up just lost credibility.

 

[greygray]

<<SNIP>>
Now...where were those latest Verizon iPhone rumors...

This review is biased. Just because you are unable to get a network connection doesn't mean others can't. As the others have pointed out, I'll love to see even 3 bars of reception in a lift.

Verizon iPhone rumors.. why? Be happy with your Droid since you've made that purchase..

 

[The Californian]

The real question is, you looking to get rid of that 3GS? PM me.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

Verizon had had equally bad service as AT&T. One should note, none of this speaks anything negative about the iPhone or positive about the Droid, simply AT&T vs. Verizon.

The real question is: are you actually happy?

 

[reoreilly]

This review is biased. Just because you are unable to get a network connection doesn't mean others can't. As the others have pointed out, I'll love to see even 3 bars of reception in a lift.

Verizon iPhone rumors.. why? Be happy with your Droid since you've made that purchase..

I believe the OP did state that others may well get great coverage, but that he did not, at the start. And I think the Verizon rumors part was a joke.

 

[zoomin6]

The real question is, you looking to get rid of that 3GS? PM me.

No no no PM ME! I'm looking to get an iPhone 3Gs upgrading from a 2G....but I guess xbuddycorex has first dibs if you decide to sell lol

Guess I'll just have to buy full retail on it arrr

BTW to greygray, the OP stated and I quote "the network (or lack thereof). AT&T is absolute horsesh|t. Maybe you've had a different experience and have good coverage where you live and I'm happy for you. But I do not."

walter..

 

[lollicup]

If you are a Doctor you should know that your review has a large false positive rate

giving at&t a zero and verizon a 100 is a huge bias and throws your study down the sh|thole

a more accurate rating would probably be like at&t 50 verizon 80-90

but glad you found a phone that works for you

 

[McBeats]

yeah bad form on the 0/100 att service and 100/100 verizon service...
granted, verizon probably has better coverage, but i tell ya, not always. I get 2-3 bars everywhere i go, 1 bar in my house (and it has actually gotten better since 3 yrs ago)... i dont see 4 bars on my verizon, although i rarely have dropped calls, but where i live i will expect the same from att.

 

[Badger^2]

you should come to Nor Cal...

ATT is always full bars all the time -- verizon, nextel, t-mobile all pretty much bite...

we have had ATT for years and years, maybe 10+, and they have always been great

my work phone was a nextel, used to drop calls all the time, switched to verizon, got a lot better signal, but still not as good as ATT

 

[PsyD4Me]

hell, in NJ i would give ATT a 0 and verizon 100 as well.

no reason to jump down OP's throat, his scores are out of frustration but still, i can see how he can consider his phone service non-functional.

I mean i'm sure some of you guys skipped out on a tip for bad service at a restaurant before (even though you got your food served of course)
OR
when you give a 0 for bad car service from your local dealership

but i'm sure some of you will continue to argue

 

[daflake]

You know, I used to be one of those guys that rolled my eyes at folks complaining about dropped calls until I traveled to San Francisco. I live on Cape Cod and the coverage is pretty good. I hardly ever have a dropped call but once I got there, my frustrations with making a phone call grew rapidly. I had to stand very still and not move a muscle to ensure that I wouldn't get disconnected.

So, it is possible that they deserve that 0 in Houston.... It does not mean that all areas are like that.

OP, I am glad you like your new phone.

 

[wowipod]

Dropped calls are the iPhone. I have tested an iPhone to a cheapo phone and I got 3 dropped calls on the iPhone compared to 0 on the cheapo phone. Same network, same area, different phones.

 

[QCassidy352]

hell, in NJ i would give ATT a 0 and verizon 100 as well.

no reason to jump down OP's throat, his scores are out of frustration but still, i can see how he can consider his phone service non-functional.

I mean i'm sure some of you guys skipped out on a tip for bad service at a restaurant before (even though you got your food served of course)
OR
when you give a 0 for bad car service from your local dealership

but i'm sure some of you will continue to argue

people might not be arguing so much if he hadn't used those scores to create overall averages grading each phone. Personally, I thought it was a decent review if you just go by the text instead of the numbers, which are definitely too black and white (99/100 on iPhone software? Hey, I love it too, but there's more room for improvement than that).

OP, as others have said, if you work 12 hour days and get NO ATT service at work, how could you possibly stick with them for 2.5 years no matter what phone models were available? A flip phone and iPod touch would have been a far better choice.

Oh, and re: elevators - I have 5 bars of AT&T in the elevators in my office building in Boston (and zero bars of t-mo, FWIW).

 

[Warbrain]

Dropped calls are the iPhone. I have tested an iPhone to a cheapo phone and I got 3 dropped calls on the iPhone compared to 0 on the cheapo phone. Same network, same area, different phones.

Except that I used to get dropped calls all the time in the little hole I was in until they bolstered the network up. So no, not just the phone. I never get dropped calls now.

As for this "review"...

Have fun, enjoy it, but don't be surprised when you end up using the iPhone again because there will be nagging issues with the Droid like, oh, the 256 MB of space for apps.

 

[maflynn]

Congrats on the new phone, but I'm curious as you mentioned that you get zero bars at work on ATT and you're at work from 7:00am to 7:00pm, why did you get a 3G and then upgrade again to a 3GS - seems kind of silly to be spending all that money on a phone that won't work during the day.

I'm not disagreeing that you don't get any coverage - I've read and seen enough maps to see that ATT's 3G service is horrible. I'm lucky I suppose as I live/work in Boston and there's little difference between ATT and Verizon.

 

[Goona]

I find it extremely funny how the AT&T network is constantly bashed and Verizon is made out to be some holy grails of networks. You mean to tell me that Verizon doesn't get dropped calls? I mean how do the 80 million plus customers on AT&T survive on such a bad network and no not all AT&T customers are on it because of the iphone. This AT&T bashfest is getting a little bit old.

 

[stockscalper]

I find it extremely funny how the AT&T network is constantly bashed and Verizon is made out to be some holy grails of networks. You mean to tell me that Verizon doesn't get dropped calls? I mean how do the 80 million plus customers on AT&T survive on such a bad network and no not all AT&T customers are on it because of the iphone. This AT&T bashfest is getting a little bit old.

I was on Verizon for years and had the same experience with them the OP is claiming with AT&T. Although I wouldn't rate their network a zero (nobody's network is that bad) I did experience spotty service and a lot of dropped calls. So, I left for AT&T 3 years ago and I've ben much happier. I'm not basing my experience on just where I live as I travel across the country a great deal. What I've found is that every cell phone provider has problem areas and they have dropped calls. It's just not fair to bash one provider and elevate another and worship it.

As for the Droid it has a sluggish OS. The thing Verizon phones all have in common is that they are thicker and bulkier than the iPhone and their OS is slower, less responsive and sluggish. If the OP is looking for an experience closer to the iPhone's on Verizon he'll really need to wait until the Omnia II comes out. Til then the closest phone they have is the Imagio. It is not as thick as the Droid and it has a virtual keyboard like the iPhone. It's OS is Windows Mobile, but that can greatly be enhanced by installing Mobile Shell. With Mobile Shell the OS actually rivals and even surpasses the iPhone in some areas. But still, it's going to be sluggish compared to the iPhone. Even the Omnia II with an 800 MHZ processor is sluggish next to the iPhone. Apple just got that part right when they engineered the iPhone and its OS.

 

[ozzyman500]

After I got done reading the first paragraph I thought this was a TheSpaz post. Sorry to hear about your complaints about AT&T. I've been with them since the Cingular days and never had one dropped call. Sure maybe service is bad in some areas but no dropped calls - with that said I will be an iPhone owner until there is no more. Good luck with Verizon.